Business of the Month: Forbidden Planet, 832 Broadway
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In the pioneering sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, Commander John Adams (Leslie Nielsen) must voyage to a far-away planet to learn the fate of scientists sent there decades before. You, on the other hand, only have to travel a few blocks to reach the pioneering sci-fi emporium Forbidden Planet (832 Broadway between 12th and 13th Street), our August Business of the Month, and discover the fate of a thousand alternate universes! At this legendary seedbed and disseminator of geek culture, you can immerse yourself in a vast collection of graphic novels, games, science fiction literature, comics, toys, and movies, and emerge from the store into a world imbued by insinuations of the mysterious and the fantastical.

The story of Forbidden Planet starts in London with a teacher who used comics as reading materials for students with disabilities. That teacher, Mike Luckman, decided to change careers and join his friends Mike Lake and Nick Landau in their new business, importing and distributing comics books from the United States. To support this distribution business, in 1977 the three launched a comics and science fiction retail store in London. Luckman then had the idea of opening a megastore version of it in New York, in partnership with the owners of a local business that had just pioneered the direct sale of comics to retailers. Thus in 1981 arose Forbidden Planet at 821 Broadway at 12th Street. (1)
Forbidden Planet has, to a degree, hewed to the same formula from the outset. Only its emphasis has changed, in response to customer interest. It sells novels. Their selection initially consisted primarily of science fiction, and went on to encompass genres such as fantasy, crime, and horror. Comics in various configurations have also always been a key commodity. But this focus has expanded over the years to include all manner of graphic novels and manga.

The shop also offers a variety of games — role-playing, board, card, and otherwise. It even boasts a moderate DVD, Blu ray, and VHS section specializing in science fiction, horror, kung fu, and your general assortment of B-movies (a valiant effort to fill the still-gaping hole left behind by the tragic departure of Kim’s Video just a few blocks away).



The store complements these departments with a wide variety of tie-in and stand-alone products, including t-shirts (over 200 different kinds!), memorabilia, posters, collectibles, toys, and action figures, from the small and familiar to the large and alarmingly life-like.





Forbidden Planet’s remarkable selection explains in part the store’s longevity. But it hardly tells the whole story. The shop, after all, counts among its competitors online giants that, under one virtual roof, sell not just sci-fi novels and comics, but also Pond’s cold cream, ready-to-eat chana masala, and inflatable water slide bounce castles. Who can compete with that selection? No one. But, conversely, those online competitors can’t begin to approximate the shopping experience at Forbidden Planet. For one, rather than drown shoppers in the flotsam of global mass production, the store carefully curates its inventory, working with over a hundred dealers. This greatly enhances the joys of getting lost in its isles, open to new discoveries. That said, those joys would be far lesser if you could not eventually find your way out. Luckily, the staff is at hand to show you the way, and they take special pride in doing so. As 30-year Forbidden Planet veteran and manager Jeff Ayers explains:
We try to be inclusive to everyone. It’s an open door to the whole city, and there is something here that will appeal to anyone who walks in the door. Whoever you are, I can find you something that you’ll really dig. And we’re very good. Everybody who works here is very good at matching people with gifts or with something they’re going to like. That’s something the store should be pretty proud of, that it’s had those kinds of people work here throughout the years.
Finding well-suited products is, of course, made easier by the store’s well-considered inventory. But beyond that, Forbidden Planet has shown an uncanny ability over the years to anticipate and even shape customer interests, consistently moving ahead of the curve on trends and playing a role in fomenting them. When it opened, it became the first retailer to sell 2000 AD comics (e.g., Judge Dredd) in the United States. The store was the city’s primary purveyor of graphic novels back in the 1980s, decades before the mainstream caught on. Well before the Transformers blew up, you could only get them at Forbidden Planet. The same was true for Pokemon and for Magic: The Gathering. Back when the average person, if asked, would have guessed that “manga” was the feminine form of mango, Forbidden Planet carried future best selling series such as Vampire Hunter D and had even held a book signing with the legendary author of Akira, Katsuhiro Otomo.


The remarkable foresight on display at Forbidden Planet might make you suspect the presence of soothsayers in its staff. And we don’t discount the possibility that some employees might have played wizards in the occasional Dungeons and Dragon campaign. But the secret behind the shop’s insights into the future is at once simpler and more profound. Forbidden Planet operates less as a traditional store than as a critical node in a geek-cultural ecosystem that it itself has helped grow. People converge there at different stages of their lives as customers, artists, or employees drawn by common passions. Customers come not infrequently just to hang out and meet people. Some go on to become staff members; and some of those go on to careers in the toy industry or as graphic novelists, all the while remaining customers. Prominent artists have found patronage in the store during their early-career struggles (and, in fact, the store continues to promote the work of a substantial number of self-published authors). In this type of environment, store buyers don’t need to guess which way tastes will trend. They already form part of the community that charts their course.

Forbidden Planet’s decades-long efforts have earned the store a loyal and far-ranging following. Parents bring in their children, hoping to instill in them a passion for reading.(2) Those children grow up and one day bring in their children. The curious wander in, ask for a recommendation, and get hooked. Christmas shoppers come in once a year, every year, knowing that they’ll always find an amazing gift. Artists, whose careers have repeatedly intertwined with the store, insert references to Forbidden Planet in their work. Celebrity fans, like the late Robin Williams, proclaim it their favorite place in the city (“If you go there, you’ll have a weird time. Talk to that staff; they’ll blow your minds!”). And this enthusiasm is mirrored by the staff. Jeff does not hold back.
I love this job. I absolutely fucking love it. It is sickening how much I love this store in general. I love the people I deal with. The new customers. The people from around the world. Kids. Helping kids get into this stuff. That’s a really great lovely thing. I love matching people up with gifts. I love when people come back and give us positive feedback. Selling somebody a book and having them come back five years from now and say, “you recommended me that and got me into comics for the rest of my life,” and I say, “I’m sorry I ruined you.” But I’m really happy.
The devotion that Forbidden Planet inspires has allowed it to overcome challenges posed over the years by changes to the neighborhood. So has the fact that most of these have come with a silver lining. Rents have skyrocketed; but, to a degree, so has the neighborhood’s popularity among residents and visitors. Large rivals have arisen, most notably Virgin Megastore; but the synergies outweighed the competition. More recently, COVID’s aftermath has depressed tourism and nightlife, killed the lunch time office worker crowd, and shut down businesses that used to lure people to the area. This has forced Forbidden Planet to reduce its hours and work staff. There has not been much of a bright side to these developments, except for this: They have shone a light on perhaps the store’s greatest resource and the secret behind its endurance, its significance in the lives of customers past and present and of even non-customers who merely value its existence.
COVID forced Forbidden Planet to shut down, but not its landlord. After a month without revenues, Jeff was forced to make a public appeal for assistance in order to stay afloat. Over a thousand people answered his call. For the many reasons given by those who did, we are thrilled to name Forbidden Planet our August 2024 Business of the Month.
This place is a haven for geeks, oddballs, and quirky misfits — and that’s why it must never close! – Russell
I learned to read by reading comics, and I got my first comics at Forbidden Planet. Forbidden Planet immediately felt less like a store and more like a community– a treasure trove and refuge for like minds. I’ve felt a part of the family ever since. And over three decades later, signing copies of my own graphic novel in Forbidden Planet, with my own kids at my side, was perhaps the most emotional and beautiful moment of my career as a writer. I now bring my kids to the store weekly– to instill in them a love of reading, games and the arts with the help of Forbidden Planet, Jeff Ayers and his team. – Vivek
The workers, and the store, know its regulars and treat us like people rather than random tourists who wander into a den of geeks. – Giancarlo
I’ve been going to Forbidden Planet every Wednesday for about five years now. Everyone in the staff that I have met is incredibly kind and helpful. I’m a fairly quiet person and I’m not even sure if most of the staff knows me by name, but I just want to thank all of them – Kieran

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1. The store has occupied three storefronts over the years, each larger than the last, along the same stretch of Broadway. To those who insist that the earlier ones were bigger, they weren’t. You were just smaller.
2. Nota bene. This strategy works. It’s the reason why manager Jeff Ayers’ grandparents first brought him to the store. And he’s still there over thirty years later.